1.Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a connector provided with a moving plate for positioning and protecting male type electric contact portions of male terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector to be used for electric connection includes a male connector and a female connector. The male connector is provided at an end part of one electric wire bundle while the female connector is provided at an end part of the other electric wire bundle. The male connector includes a male connector housing and a large number of male terminals. The male connector housing has a hood portion and a male terminal reception portion. The male terminals are received in the connector housing. When there are a large number of male terminals, the male connector further includes a moving plate. The moving plate is provided for positioning and protecting male type electric contact portions (male tubs) of the male terminals protruding into the hood portion of the male connector when the female connector has not been fitted to the male connector yet. The moving plate is installed to be temporarily locked in an internal intermediate position of the hood portion. The connector configured thus is, for example, disclosed in JP-A-2000-195610.
When there are more poles than those of the connector disclosed in JP-A-2000-195610, it is effective to provide a lever so that connector fitting and release between the male connector and the female connector can be performed by operation on the lever. Although such a lever is not shown, JP-A-2009-187865 discloses a multipolar connector including a moving plate in its configuration.
In the connector disclosed in JP-A-2009-187865, it is necessary to move the moving plate together with the female connector for the sake of connector fitting between the male connector and the female connector. To this end, a structure in which a part of the moving plate can be broken is used. Accordingly, when connector release is performed after the connector fitting, the moving plate is left behind in a deep position of the hood portion of the male connector. That is, in the background art, there is a problem that the moving plate cannot be returned to its original position after connector fitting has been once performed.